Author's Note: The pacing on this feels a bit off, but I blame the passing of the years for that. Also, for those of you who don't like powerful Sakura, my apologies but she and the other kids are going to be strong in their various ways. This chapter explores that, with some Lorelei Barthomeloi observations in the end.

Chapter 7: Shadow Walking Sakura

December 17, 1994

Tohsaka Residence

Texture 1986A—Unlimited World Works

6:36 AM

As a landmark year approached its end, the Tohsaka family took to living in the copy of their home in Shirou's Texture at Morgan's recommendation. Even with the repairs and upgrades to their original home complete, they still planned to stay here for at least half of the time due to the magical benefits on the children's growth. One of those benefits would manifest far more quickly than expected.

"E-eh? Sakura? When did you get here?" A voice asked in surprise. This roused Sakura from her sleep as her eyes opened and she found herself in her parents' room—specifically under the covers in their bed—clinging to a surprised Aoi Tohsaka. Her confusion was understandable. The children and Atalanta had recently taken to sleeping in a huge sleepover-style cuddle pile—one that Sakura had somehow extracted herself from before finding herself in a different room and bed entirely.

"I...don't know? I was with Nee-san, Ere-nee, Ishtar, and Atalanta-nee...and next thing I know I'm here..."

"It happened a few hours ago," another voice made itself known as Medusa materialized in the room. "I've been watching. Sakura had a nightmare of some sort, the shadows wrapped around her, and she vanished. I sensed her presence here right away and managed to keep Atalanta from worrying and waking the other children. We think it to be some form of shadow walking or teleportation."

"I see..." Aoi had a suspicion on hearing this and decided to check something. "Sakura, what kind of nightmare was it?"

The young girl frowned. "I was remembering when I was sent away to be a Matou. I didn't want to go and I was trying to cling to you..."

Aoi's expression took on a sad smile at this, the smile aspect only being worn for Sakura's sake. She and Tokiomi had told her repeatedly how sorry they were and that it wouldn't happen again. Such verbal assurances only went so far though, so Aoi simply cuddled with her child to reassure her. "So when you tried to do it in the dream, you did it in the real world." After a moment of thought, the mother nodded. "Maybe it's like when you were potty training. Time and control will probably make you a master at this. It has to be secret outside family and friends like your shadow familiars are, but being able to move through shadows...It's a wonderful power, Sakura."

Sakura never got a chance to worry about if her new ability was weird. Aoi didn't even let her child's mind go there before reassurance and praise was given. If anything, this power was something Tokiomi would also praise her for having. There were sure to be some growing pains, though...

January 4, 1995

Emiya Residence

Texture 1986A—Unlimited World Works

6:00 AM

After dreaming about her first meeting with Shirou and Saber, Sakura was vaguely aware of a slightly shrill noise that repeated itself and coaxed her awake. It compelled her to open her eyes...eyes that looked into the startled golden-brown ones of Shirou. They both froze on waking to the alarm clock, Sakura suddenly aware that she was clinging to the boy in his own futon. In his own room.

To her credit, the surprised girl didn't scream in his face.

Shirou also managed to recover from the unexpected scene quickly enough. He reached over and turned off the alarm. "Sakura? Not that you're not welcome, but...how? And why?" He didn't use his Mystic Eyes to answer the question, preferring not to be intrusive and to get better at controlling them.

"You're...not angry with me?" Sakura asked in a quiet voice.

The boy gave a gentle smile that Sakura had quickly grown to like. "A few of the younger kids at the orphanage snuck into my bed sometimes when they had a nightmare. Did you have one?"

The girl shook her head. "No...I was dreaming about when I first met you and Saber. It was a happy dream. I might have wanted it to keep going maybe? I've just started popping up in my parents' bed when I miss them too."

'Sakura?' Medusa's voice called out over their link. 'Where did you go?'

Sakura answered. 'Shirou and Illya's house...I woke up in Shirou's bed after a dream.'

'We need to find a way for me to go with you if this is going to become normal. I'll tell everyone here when they wake.' Medusa said.

Sakura nodded to herself, then spoke to Shirou. "Rider will tell everyone back home where I am. Sorry for intruding..."

Shirou smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, you're always welcome here. Want to help me make breakfast? I have to hurry before Sella tries to take over the kitchen again. I keep having to use the First Magic to alter her alarm clock to go off at the wrong time..."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at that confession. A half-hour later, the Emiya-Einzbern family would wake and find Shirou teaching Sakura how to cook. Though Sella looked like she was sucking on a sour grape, most of the others smiled warmly...at least once they understood how she got there.

The girl would spend ultimately learn to control her power better but still use the excuse to pop up and visit Shirou long after that.

March 2, 1995

Tohsaka Residence

Fuyuki City, Japan

8:55 PM

Sakura's seventh birthday party was over. She celebrated it with everyone after school at her parents' home in the 'real World' so that even some of her non-magical classmates could come, but her father and Mister Velvet had been stuck at the Clock Tower all day. As she helped pack up food, she especially regretted that the former wasn't present. Sakura picked up a spare tub of ice cream and an extra cake that had not yet been cut into, regretting that he couldn't even eat any today. It was her first birthday since becoming part of the family again and he wasn't here!

The child wearing the pink birthday hat understood that he wanted to be present and that it couldn't be helped, but that didn't make her want her father any less...and for the first time since she manifested the ability, the girl was conscious when she unintentionally called upon the shadows and warped herself through Imaginary Number Space.

Clock Tower

London, Britannia

11:56 PM Local Time (Greenwich Mean Time)

(8:56 PM Japan Standard Time)

Tokiomi Tohsaka wanted to sigh but managed to resist the urge. It was his younger child's seventh birthday and yet he had been forced to teach on his planned day off after a member of the El-Melloi faction tried to sabotage one of Waver's projects. The assistant lecturer wasn't hurt, but he and Doctor Albion were forced to perform the cleanup of various sensitive materials that only they knew the details of. Tokiomi was forced to teach the class due to Doctor Albion's sudden unavailability to cover for the Clock Tower lord's day off.

So here he was, at the tail end of one of his lectures. And if the lack of attentiveness of some of his students was any indication, his lunch period would be full of spoiled teenagers demanding clarifications or deadline extensions.

"—so since prana conductivity follows the direction of a given mineral's grain or a gemstone's crystal lattice structure, that means there are optimal directions for energy flow or containment within any given type of material. It is also why gems are grouped in families by the geometry of their lattice structures. One cannot simply cut a gemstone with a cubic lattice in the same way as one with a hexagonal lattice and expect it to not shatter, much less process energy in the same manner."

Tokiomi was about to conclude his lesson and let the students go for lunch when the shadows in the room hitched and shifted. They then coalesced into a dark mass next to Tokiomi and when the darkness faded...there was his second-born. She was wearing a pink, conical birthday hat and holding ice cream and cake. She looked around herself, just as surprised as everyone else.

'...Papa? W-where is this? Why am I here? The shadows suddenly...' The girl asked in Japanese as she looked around herself in confusion that was clear even to those who were unfamiliar with the language.

There was murmuring in the classroom and Tokiomi internally winced. He didn't want the Clock Tower to know about this so soon. Deciding to conceal this impulse, he instead smiled gently and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder before speaking softly. 'Sakura, you're in London. You did what you do when you're asleep sometimes. Did you want to see me strong enough to trigger a shadow walk for some reason?'

Sakura started to realize what she had done and shyly nodded. 'I felt bad that you weren't at my birthday party. I know it's not your fault, though! I was just missing you and thinking about how you didn't get any cake, then the shadows—wait! Papa! Britannia's on the other side of the world! It's too far away for me to reach, right?' The girl had started rambling a bit when she realized the gravity of the situation, even to a limited degree.

'Evidently not, Sakura.' Tokiomi answered, knowing that being angry at the child for an accident wouldn't solve anything. After all, he had no inkling that this was possible either.

"Lord Tohsaka?" One of the students finally built up the nerve to ask. "Who is that little girl?"

Tokiomi pondered how to answer before simply accepting the cake and ice cream and putting it on his desk. "My apologies. This is my younger daughter, Sakura. A sudden scheduling conflict made me miss her seventh birthday today, and she was upset. She brought me ice cream and cake left over from the party."

"But...that was teleportation! It's supposed to be an ability lost to the Age of Gods! And it went right through the Bounded Fields around the Clock Tower!" Another student exclaimed.

Tokiomi acted nonchalant, deciding that Sakura could find refuge in her casual display of strength if not in anonymity. "There are always exceptions and workarounds, Mister Lehrman. My family studies the Second Magic. Sakura has a strong affinity with an aspect of that discipline. Sadly, it will take time for her to temper the impulses of childhood. I apologize for her intrusion into our class. Thankfully, we were done anyway. Your homework is to read Chapter Twenty-one and write a three-page essay on the effects of grain direction and crystal lattice structure on energy transference and storage. Bonus points can be earned for properly comparing and contrasting each lattice type's effects."

Tokiomi decided to change the topic to something a bit more conducive to damage control. "There is too much for me to eat on my own...everyone can use Alteration to make yourself a plate and paper cup. Then use Projection to make yourselves temporary utensils. It seems we will be having a treat for the lunch period. We have a water cooler to provide something to drink. You will have to do without tea or soda." The impromptu party started, with Sakura's unofficial and unplanned introduction to Tokiomi's students going relatively well.

Tokiomi knew that he would be hearing about these events later. Painting the idea that his child was sufficiently powerful enough in at least one aspect of the Second Magic's mechanics to instinctively cross the planet to deliver birthday cake and ice cream—which was far better than claiming that she had aspects of an Elemental of Hollow and could manage even without such training—was perhaps the only way to avoid having her slapped with a Sealing Designation or designated something non-human without expending his or Zelretch's political resources. Rumors would surely start, some of them likely claiming that he had planned the event to prove that his second-born daughter had just as much a place in the Tohsaka family's research into the Second Magic as his first-born. That it was an act to prove that the traditions that would otherwise see her discarded or married to a family with a different goal would simply have led to her potential being wasted. He'd have to lean into that probable interpretation.

The general impression in the end would be of Sakura Tohsaka being a dutiful daughter and Magician Candidate who occasionally broke reality to happily deliver her father and 'Grandpa Zel' lunch over the years—everything a Magus father could hope for.

September 14, 1997

Yamato Plain

GUDAGUDA Texture

10:06 AM

A happy exclamation of "NOBBUUU~!" was heard as Sakura petted the head of the odd creature resting on her lap. The chibi caricature of Oda Nobunaga was more than content to entertain the child who had happened upon it and given it food. As of this moment, they were seated atop a hill overlooking the rice paddies and fields of the Yamato Plain. A dust cloud sped through the area, however, serving as the focus of their attention.

Kicking up the dust were thousands of the creatures. Some were made of metals like steel, silver, or gold. Some flew in what looked like small UFOs or had tank treads. A few were even dressed like Elvis. They were conducting their annual autumn migration to warmer climates and better-paying seasonal jobs.

Logic was scarce in the GUDAGUDA Texture. Still, it was a fun place for Sakura to visit.

Sakura's ability to shadowwalk was something that existed in her other Worldline's Lesser Grail self, but not so smoothly or without external influence. The girl could traverse Textures or even reach the Reverse Side with her ability, which transcended human limitation. In time, the reason for this ability ultimately emerged from the lips of Morgan le Fay. Being under the care of Avalon Nocturne from conception had ensured that Sakura was not exclusively human. She was an Elemental much like Morgan or Yu Mei-ren. A Fairy of Hollow and Hope embodying Avalon's night. Traversing Imaginary Number Space was thus as easy to her as a fish navigating the sea. It also ensured that she was not seen as something to be ejected or imposed upon by most Textures. The Fae were the planet's senses of touch and sight. To make Textures with rules where they were not able to serve their purpose was counterproductive.

Sakura had not fully mastered her abilities. Marble Phantasm eluded her even now. But she had grown them enough to be able to 'feel' the Textures around her as well as the realms immediately beyond the planet. And she felt a death and shadow-filled Texture calling out to her due to her Origin and Element of Hollow. An afterlife like Kur, she surmised. Sadly, it felt bereft of Hope.

The parallels were concerning. Was this a place where someone had been stranded and forgotten like Ere-nee? Unable to get free? She felt she wouldn't be harmed or trapped if she went. The shadows would not harm her. Even so, she had been too nervous to approach it since first sensing it over a year ago. But now...she didn't want to put it off any longer.

Gently lifting the creature off of her lap and setting it down, she smiled and handed it a picnic basket. "Here you go, Nobbu-chan! I have to get going. It was good to meet you though! Maybe I'll see you again someday!"

"Nobbu! No-nobbu!" The creature gleefully accepted the meal and waved before running off to rejoin the migration. Sakura smiled and waved back before steeling herself and flexing the shadows around her to her will. She drew them around herself and faded into the darkness...

Unknown Texture

10:12 AM

It was dark and cold. This was what Sakura first realized on her arrival to this land of perpetual night. She instinctively clad herself in prana ribbons to shield against the absence of warmth. Were it a modern-day human visiting, they would have been killed quickly. Even a human from the Age of Gods might not have made it given the creatures that were quick to attack. Thankfully, the shadows themselves gave the beasts no reprieve. Some were impaled by the shadows inside their own bodies and assumed the appearance of pincushions if they dared to assail the child under their protection. Some of the wiser beasts shied away, regarding this small child as a predator above themselves.

Sakura walked along a path and soon took note of a distant castle. The structure was ancient, it and the winding road the sole apparent creations of man in these lands. The moment she decided to shadow walk the rest of the way, the shadows rapidly obliged her. It was as if this realm's shadows were eager to obey.

On arriving in front of the castle, she was immediately aware of eyes upon her. Eyes other than those of the beasts. She looked up to see a female frame standing atop a stone wall, clad in a dark bodysuit with a mask drawn over her face. Dark purple hair and red eyes drew Sakura's attention, as did the two red spears in her grip.

'A child? No...well, you are undeniably in the form of a child, but you are only partly human. This Scáthach has not had one come for training in many lifetimes.' The being spoke in a form of proto-Gaelic, clearly curious rather than displaying blood lust. 'Why have you come, Fairy of Shadow?'

Sakura pondered for a moment—trying to decide what she should say—before simply answering, 'to see if you're okay.' It sounded a bit awkward after she realized who this person was. Scáthach. Cu Chulainn's teacher. The Witch of Dún Scáith. Queen of the Land of Shadows. It was fortunate that Shirou had hacked his version of the Lesser Grail with Irisviel's aid to load languages into the minds of the group. That had proven necessary after Gray became responsible for Norway and lived there part of the year.

'Hmph. If your innocence is real, then you are a child true. Not merely one in appearance. How old?' The woman asked.

'I'm nine,' Sakura answered. 'And I was born like a human. I have a mama, a papa, and a sister...'

The woman nodded. 'I have heard of stranger...but why do you worry for me? There is no need for such. I cannot die.'

Sakura fidgeted slightly before answering. 'There used to be a place called Kur. The Sumerian land of the dead...thousands of years older than this, I think? The souls inside were all gone, but the girl in charge was trapped. Forever.' Scáthach did not interrupt, letting Sakura speak. 'But an accident happened a couple of years ago. My friend kind of...ate Kur with his soul by accident, and that girl's free now! Ere-nee became my new sister! She's so happy now and when I felt this place...I thought about her. About how I'd never have known her if she wasn't freed. I had to see if there was someone here trapped like she was. Living forever can hurt if you're alone.'

Silence reigned for several moments as Scáthach weighed Sakura's words. Her expression softened ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly so. '...I know not if you are a student, but you are a guest. I invite you to my castle, so long as you are mindful that I may have trouble remembering how to treat guests and children. Food and drink are not available, either. These lands know not that which nourishes life.'

'That's okay! I can leave if I get hungry and come back. Maybe even bring you something if you want. Or we could see if you can come with me!' Sakura said, smiling.

'I need not sustenance, child,' Scáthach said, though she appeared to contemplate that last option.

'Well, it's not about needing it...you can still enjoy yourself, right?' Sakura asked.

The woman pondered for another moment. Then she wordlessly leapt down from the castle wall and opened the door to its interior—an indication to enter. Sakura complied and the door closed behind her.

Sakura was ultimately led past the walls, into the castle, and to an ancient sitting room with a fire that blazed in defiance of the world it had been started in. The woman pulled away her mask, regarding the child who had come to break her eternal monotony. 'Tell me about yourself, Sakura.' Scáthach demanded bluntly, not accustomed to decorum or politeness. Not that Sakura minded. The girl spoke of herself and her life. Of the World and its Reverse Side. Of the Grail War. Of what she might otherwise have become and what life had been led instead. She also spoke of her friends and family. Scáthach listened patiently, having not heard another being speak to her in far too long.

September 15, 1997

Emiya Residence

Texture 1986A—Unlimited World Works

6:25 AM

A series of loud blasts were heard, waking up the people of the Emiya Residence. The Bounded Field around the property had barely registered danger before the assault happened, the blood lust instant rather than a gradual development. Everyone rushed to action, preparing to evacuate...only to find breakfast ready and Shirou and Sakura sitting calmly on the outer walkway watching the violence outside. An unknown woman was fighting EMIYA with a ferocity not seen in anything but Servants and yet those with a Master's senses didn't register her as a Servant at all. Morgan, Ereshkigal, and Artemis were also present, observing the fight with notable interest. Merlin was watching too, but he was focused on the shape of the woman more than her skill. Even Gilgamesh and Enkidu had arrived and were partaking of the meal, the former grinning ear to ear as he watched the woman humble EMIYA as if it were a show.

"Shirou. Sakura. Who is that?" Kiritsugu sternly demanded with urgency.

Sakura smiled nervously. "Sorry...that's Scáthach-shishou. I met her when I found the Land of Shadows Texture. It turns out she was stuck there when it was isolated from both the World and the Reverse Side...so I brought her here. She's nice, but she really likes to fight."

This was punctuated by EMIYA slamming through a building across the street that promptly collapsed on top of him. "Oops," Shirou said as he rebuilt the site with a thought. Being the core of this place had its perks. "Yeah, Scáthach-shishou talked to me about my powers after we gave her modern languages with the Grail. When she realized I could Trace Cu Chulainn's weapon and that Archer and I were pretty much immortal in here, she demanded a fight against him to get an idea of how strong Lancer was during the Fifth Grail War."

"She is certainly pleasant to the eye, even if blunt in tone," Merlin said while smirking.

Gilgamesh scoffed. "She is too much for you, half-breed mongrel. You look upon a woman who can strike down gods and has ascended beyond the limits of humanity on her own merit. The young Fairy did well to free her of her prison, for such an example deserves an honored place in my garden." That was high praise from Gilgamesh, but it was understandable. Scáthach represented the pinnacle of humanity and their ability to reject the gods to find their own strength. Gilgamesh saw her very existence as proof of his beliefs and actions being right. Even the use of Ea might not grant him a permanent victory should she stand against him...but that only pleased him more in this instance. He looked at the immortal with a similar regard to that he had for Artoria.

The fight lasted long enough to draw the attention of the rest of the occupants of the Texture, including the Tohsaka family. Ishtar laughed more than a few times at EMIYA's situation, but he didn't do badly. He did take several mortal blows that he only survived by nature of being a soul anchored to this place, but that was to be expected. "Very well. I am satisfied with your emulation of Sétanta's performance." EMIYA almost relaxed, but the woman smiled as she positioned herself to attack again. "Now show me the full extent of your skill. I want to see what the boy's baseline would be without my training."

Seven more hours of combat would follow. She would push EMIYA to and beyond his limits, relishing the chance to fight a foe who could last for as long as she desired. After she was finally satisfied, the warrior Queen would rejoin the others and give a reasonably content smile. "Greetings. I am Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows. I will not always be here as I would prefer to maintain my realm's existence and hunt my prey, but I accept the invitation of the children to live here much of the time. A connection between this realm and mine should be possible to establish, so long as Shirou allows it and the protections of this place prevent my prey in the Land of Shadows from crossing over."

"That's not a problem, Shishou!" Shirou said, happily. "You're welcome here, and the protections I inherited from Avalon are built into my soul. They're always on."

The woman nodded. "Then it is possible to make a new Gate of Skye somewhere nearby. I shall be teaching the children Primordial Runes and physical combat, including the way of the spear. In exchange, I will regularly do battle with the other warriors living here. The durability and diversity of this tanned one alone should keep me entertained far better than the foes remaining in my realm." EMIYA groaned at the realization that he was going to be this woman's punching bag. "Do not complain. I am aware of your soul bond with your younger self. He will absorb your knowledge and experience as we fight. Be grateful."

Tokiomi's eyes were wide in surprise at the ally his daughter had secured. The Clock Tower lord calmed himself and bowed. "I am Tokiomi Tohsaka, Lord of Kishur of the Mage's Association and student of Zelretch. Sakura is my younger daughter. This is Rin, my elder child. You honor my children and my line, Queen of the Land of Shadows. Most of the Primordial Runes have been lost to the ages." Rin also bowed, clearly well aware of the weight of this matter. Those Runes would elevate the Tohsaka Magecraft to new heights.

Scáthach nodded at the comment. "Sakura giving me new options for my eternity makes it worthwhile. Besides, you are heirs to Zelretch. That means we are allied so long as the old pacts are honored." The warrior Queen then looked to the children. "Sakura, Shirou, I will require your aid to find a site to live and place the new Gate of Skye. Perhaps something like my old Castle. I am not one to...mingle with large groups of people for long periods, so I will require a place of my own that is a bit distant from the rest."

Irisviel smiled widely. "You can use the Einzbern Castle over in the forest if you like! We don't really use it, but it's there. It's also built on top of the leylines!"

With this suggestion proving prudent, Scáthach would move into Unlimited World Works. She would prefer to isolate herself from the others—never being a fan of crowds unless they were armies meant to fall to her blade—but she was quite capable of teaching the children her ways. She and Morgan would occasionally butt heads over the kids' lesson plans, but the complications that arose from having two powerful masters were managed for Sakura's sake.

Gilgamesh was also a horrible flirt who couldn't take a hint, but Scáthach enjoyed those fights too.